O, Christmas Tree!
by Silmarilz1701
Summary: Chekov and Sulu team up with Scotty to decorate one of the Rec Rooms for Christmas, complete with a real, full-sized Christmas Tree. But things don't go as planned when they loose the star for on top.
1. The Missing Piece

A/N: So I finally got myself an FFN account to post these stories up. Being in the christmas season and all, I keep having Chekov and Co. doing something holiday-ish popping up in my head. It's getting a bit distracting, considering I'm typing these stories up instead of studying for semester finals... Then again, I'd probably end up doing something else equally as distracting. Anyways, thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: Though I wish i did, I own nothing but the christmas tree.

* * *

Chekov grinned excitedly at the green tree that sat in the currently unoccupied Rec Room. He and Sulu had managed to convince Scotty that falsifying the report about Recreation Room 3 would be worth the trouble. Not to mention they promised to make him sandwiches for a week. Scotty had advised Captain Kirk that the room was overdue for repairs and maintenance, so it was off limits.

In reality, it was off limits because Sulu and Chekov were decorating a Christmas tree. While Sulu had grown bonsai-sized Christmas trees for various crew members, it just didn't feel the same as a real one. Therefore, Sulu and Chekov had months earlier decided to grow a full sized one. They had grown an 8 foot tall Fraser Fir tree… in their walk in closet. Pavel had managed to wire an improved ventilation system, Hikaru installed some heat lamps, and they let the tree grow.

Pavel whipped around as he heard a clang from the other side of the room. Trying to keep his voice low he hissed, "Hikaru! Shhhhhhh! You vill wake up zhe crew!"

Sulu was clambering out of a Jefferies Tube, an arm full of Christmas lights in hand.

"Not my fault the transporters are being watched! And if anyone were to see me carrying these," he held up the lights, "then they'd know something was up! And you know how fast rumors spread on this ship. So relax, will you!"

Pavel grumbled a reply but it was lost in a crash as Sulu attempted to close the tube's door. Picking up his Christmas lights again, he made his way calmly over to the ensign, and chuckled at the annoyed look on his friend's face.

"Well, let's get this tree all strung up so we can stop all this sneaking around."

After stringing the lights on the tree, Chekov got out the ornaments and hooks. "Christmas ornaments were inwented in Russia, you know," he mentioned, while trying – unsuccessfully – to get the small hook to close on the ornament's own hook. He grinned at Hikaru as if daring him to contradict the fact.

"Right, I'm sure they were Pav. Whatever you say," Sulu shook his head, though he did crack as small smile. His friend never gave up when it came to "Russian inWentions."

In fact, Sulu was quite aware that ornaments had originated in Germany, and NOT in Russia, but he never would have told Chekov that. He grabbed a shiny blue ball and hung it on the tree.

* * *

"Somezhing is missing, Sulu. But I can't put my finger on it, can you?"

Sulu stared at the tree, looking it up and down. They had covered the tree in lights, ornaments, candy canes, and tinsel. But Chekov was right; they were missing some – the star for the top! He paled as he remembered where he had put it. He'd dashed across a corridor, trying to make it to the nearest access port without being seen. Though it was gamma shift, and roughly 0100 hours, Sulu was still paranoid that he'd be seen. Since he was carrying lights and a big star for the top of the tree, he had trouble opening the hatch for the next Jefferies Tube. He'd set the star down, opened the door, and then that's when he'd heard footsteps. Panicking, Sulu had rushed into the tube and shut the door… without picking up the tree-topper.

"Oh man. Uh, Pavel, I sorta left the star outside Jefferies Tube 21A," he muttered.

Chekov stared at the man, mouth gaping wide, "You left it in zhe open?! You stay here; I'm smaller so I can fit through zhe shafts quicker. I'll be back as soon as I can."


	2. Clear as Mudd

A/N: Again, thanks for everyone who reads, especially for reviewers. I love Chekov, and I've always loved the Original Series character of Lt. Riley, even though he only appeared in two episodes. I can only imagine what it'd have been like if the proud Russian and the proud Irishman were to meet. Something tells me that Sulu would have to be some sort of a mediator, especially after a few drinks.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

* * *

Chekov was still grumbling as he made his way through the various Jefferies tubes. They had worked months on that star! It was about 2 feet from side to side, made of transparent aluminum. They had covered it in gold leafing, and on the edges they had even managed to find some latinum leafing. Pavel's mom, who apparently felt her son would need arts and crafts to keep him busy on a starship, had given them some sequins and sparkles when they'd last stopped home at Earth. Sulu had often pointed out that Chekov's mother hadn't been too far off, seeing as how they were in fact using the stuff for an art project. Pavel had chosen not to dignify that with a response.

Finally he reached the small door that read 21A. He was about to open it when he heard voices outside. To his dismay, he recognized Lieutenant Riley, but he couldn't place the other voice.

"I'm telling you, Michael, it was right here! Why would I lie to you about a giant star," he heard Riley defend himself.

"If it was right here, then where'd it go, Kevin? I don't suppose it just got up and walk away," argued the man Chekov assumed was Michael. "Admit it; this is just another one of your Christmas pranks. You've done 'em ever since our freshman year at the Academy!"

"No, I swear! Come back, come on. Aren't you in the least bit curious about why there was a giant, sparkly star in the middle of the hall? I almost tripped on it returning to my quarters!"

Chekov actually face-palmed, and as he heard the voices and footsteps retreat, opened the door. What was he going to do now? He had to find that star, before it was too late. Trying to look as natural as possible, he smoothed his uniform, replaced the hatch, and walked down the corridors. He was trying to think who might have been in this area during Gamma shift. The only person he could think of would be Scotty, but then again Scotty knew of their plans and would have brought the star to them. So it must have been someone else.

Suddenly a thought occurred to him. And that thought made him sick. They had recently picked up a passenger, one Harry Mudd. According to his own admission, he was a buisnessman who sold what he could get his hands on. As of yet he hadn't broken the law, but Pavel knew most of the bridge crew, including himself, believed it was only a matter of time. If Harry Mudd had stumbled on his star, it was entirely likely that Mudd had taken it back to his quarters to look at his find and decide on a price for it. After all, it was coated in latinum, and while gold wasn't that high in demand, latinum always was.

But as if that wasn't bad enough, Chekov suddenly realized that it would be hard getting the star back without letting everyone know about the Christmas tree. What was he supposed to do if Mudd refused to give it back? Go to Kirk and demand that Mudd return his star? That would only invite more questions. Pavel rubbed his hands together. Sulu would pay for this, one way or another. But the most important thing was getting back their tree-topper, not revenge.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't notice Riley standing there staring at him until he'd walked straight into the Lieutenant. He noticed Kevin had an amused but puzzled look on his face as the ensign bumped into him.

"Hey Chekov, watch where you're going, okay," he said, his eyebrows rising ever so slightly as he smirked.

Pavel gritted his teeth, but nodded and apologized. He started walking away when Riley's voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Oh and Pavel, you wouldn't happen to know where the big star went, would you? Or, at least who made it," said Kevin with a conspiratorial look on his face. He laughed at Chekov's obvious attempt at covering up his shock. "Next time you try to hide Christmas plans from me, I'd advise you not to go around with sparkles on your clothes and hands. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. In fact, I was going to offer my help in finding the missing star. We can't have a Christmas tree without a tree-topper, now can we?"

Chekov was amazed, "How long have you known, sir? We thought zhe tree was a secret."

"No holiday plans go ahead without my knowledge on this ship. I make it my personal business to know what goes on when it comes to parties and decorating, not to mention pranks. You and Sulu aren't the only ones who enjoy surprises, only I'm not used to being on the receiving end. I'd like to help with the Christmas plans. Oh, and call me Riley."

"Alright Riley, I suppose that with three we can find zhe star faster than with just zhe two of us. Come on, let's get back to zhe Rec Room and tell Sulu," he said as they made their way to the closest Jefferies Tube hatch and crawled in.


	3. Operation: Air Vent!

_A/N: I can't stop writing this. Chekov has invaded my brain, mixed with Christmas, and now wants to get back out. Oh well, so much for exams. I also can't see Chekov as the innocent, constantly happy teenager that he's portrayed as in many fics. As a teenager myself, and an avid TOS fan, I just have to mix in some of his devious, moody side. Seems a lot more realistic too._

_Oh, and I blame my dog for making me write another chapter today. He brought me a pencil._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing!_

* * *

Sulu was busy picking up the scraps of paper and bubble wrap from around the floor when he heard the hatch to the Jefferies tube open. He turned just in time to see Chekov, without the star, crawl out, followed by Kevin Riley.

"Hey! Kev, what's up? I assume that since Pavel showed you how to get in here that you know about our Christmas plans," Sulu asked, giving Chekov a puzzled look. Pavel was friends with Sulu, and Sulu was friends with Riley, but that did _not_ mean that Pavel and Kevin were friends.

"We've got a problem, Hikaru. Zhe star is gone. And, I zhink I know who took it," Pavel said, sitting on one of the couches they had pushed aside.

"Well, let's have it," Sulu said, sitting down opposite Chekov. Riley joined him.

"Remember zhat passenger we picked up last week from zhe shuttle that was malfunctioning? He said he was a merchant, no? Well, what if he found zhe star. After all, his quarters are near zhat Jefferies tube!"

Riley slowly nodded, "Makes sense. I suppose the question we should ask is how we are to get it back. We can't just go ask the Captain for a search warrant."

They sat in silence for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Sulu's eyes traveled around the room, as if hoping he'd spot something that would give them an answer. His eyes rested on the air vent in the corner. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

"Hey Pav… Do you think you could crawl through the air vents? They open into every room."

A devilish grin appeared on Chekov's face, "Da, I zhink that will work! But Sulu, you and Riley will need to feed me directions as I'm in the vent conduits."

"We'll need communicators. Sulu, why don't you see if you can get some from storage? I'll stay here and help Pavel get ready. We'll need some rope as well," Riley suggested. "I'll run, well crawl, to my quarters and grab some of the rope I keep locked in my closet."

"Why do you have a rope in your closet," asked Pavel.

"When you're the resident prankster, you have everything. Always need to be ready; there are birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries: you name it, I can prank it," Riley smirked.

Chekov snorted and rolled his eyes, walking over to survey the vent. He pushed a table up against the wall and climbed on it, taking off the cover so he could look inside. It was just wide enough that he'd be able to maneuver through it.

Meanwhile, Sulu took off down the Jefferies tube. It was farther to the junction where storage was than to Riley's quarters, so he'd wanted to start as soon as possible. Counting the exits as he went, he managed to find one relatively close to where the communicators were held. Impatiently he waited for the corridor to clear until he hopped out and used his access codes to grant him access to the store-room. Grabbing 3 communicators, he ran back out and once again crawled towards Recreation Room 3.

Riley chuckled as he made his way to his quarters. He couldn't wait to see the looks on the crew's faces when they saw the Christmas tree tomorrow. It would be priceless. He had to hand it to Pavel and Hikaru; even he had never grown a tree in his closet for a prank! He arrived near his quarters after just a short crawl and he was happy to hear that no one was outside. He popped off the access hatch, quickly got out, and put it back on. Whistling, he keyed in the access code to his quarters and grabbed the rope he hid in his dresser. This would be a night to remember.


	4. A Collector's Item

_A/N: I hope people are having as much fun reading this as I am writing it. I realize my chapters tend to be rather short, but there are plenty of them, so it works out. Counting down the days to Christmas! 9 more to go!_

_Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays to all of you, even if it is 9 days early!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing_

* * *

Sulu and Riley arrived back in the recreation room just minutes apart. When Sulu arrived, he found Riley tying a rope around Chekov's waist. He wondered why they would need a rope, but then again Sulu knew that if anyone them had experience with this sort of thing, it would be Kevin Riley.

"Right, here's the plan," Riley said as he spotted Sulu replacing the hatch on the Jefferies Tube, "Pavel will climb through the vents, with this rope being pulled along with him. This way, if for some reason neither of us are able to talk you through navigating the system, you know your way back. Hikaru, you'll be in charge of feeding Chekov directions. I remembered to grab a PADD from my quarters, and I downloaded the specs for the air vents. My job will be to make sure that the area outside Mudd's quarters is clear during this operation."

Pavel didn't want to admit it, but he was impressed with Riley's plan. It seemed to have a good chance of succeeding.

Hikaru passed communicators to Kevin and Pavel. "We'll use this frequency here," he pointed to one of the low band options, "and I think that Pavel and I should keep an open Com link."

The other two nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's get back zhe star so we can finish zhe tree," grinned Pavel, as he climbed up into the air vents. Slithering like a snake, he made his way forward, communicator in hand out in front of him. He continued like this for about a minute when he came to a junction that split off in the directions.

"Hikaru, I'm at a zhree way junction. Which way is Mudd's quarters," he hissed into the communicator.

"From there you need to proceed to the right, and then take the third left," crackled Sulu's voice over the link.

"Oh, and Sulu, I will have my revenge on you, just wait."

As soon as Chekov got into the vent, Riley took off down the Jefferies tube. He decided to play it safe this time and he got out at the closest exit to the Recreation Room. He didn't want to randomly appear outside Harry Mudd's quarters, and felt that having people see him walking in the halls would lessen any suspicion. He found an exit port, pushed it open, and hopped out. Making his way to a turbolift, Riley saw no one. However his luck ran out when the turbolift arrived. Standing inside was one of his best friends, Kathleen.

"Hey Kevin, why are you up this late, or should I say this early. Its nearly 0200 hours, and Gamma shift is almost half over," she grinned, making space for Riley in the lift.

"Oh I was practicing fencing in the gym with Michael. Sulu has been giving us both lessons, so we thought we'd spar a bit," he said calmly, pressing the button instructing the lift to take him to Deck 5, where Mudd's quarters were. After all, it wasn't completely a lie. He and Michael had been practicing, but that was about an hour ago.

"Fencing, eh? My brother used to take fencing. I'll have to watch a match one of these days between the three of you," Kathleen mentioned, just as the lift opened. "Well, I'll see you later. I think we've both got Beta Shift today."

As the lift closed and continued on its course, Riley let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. As the lift opened once more, he slid out and started down the corridor. Nodding to a couple of crewmen as he made his way forward, he quickly surveyed the hall for Mudd's quarters. He was in luck! A little to the right and on the opposite side of the hall from the door was an access panel. Glancing from side to side to be sure no one was looking; Riley quickly took the cover off and began tinkering harmlessly with the wires. To the inattentive passer-by, Kevin looked like he was conducting repairs.

* * *

**_Meanwhile…_**

"…Im telling you, Jones, all this thing needs are some minor adjustments to the decorating and we'll be able to pass it off as an antique. I've already got a few buyers in mind! We might ever be able to get Latinum as payment, but credits would do just fine too," said a tall, robust man dressed in oddly flashy clothing. He was leaning over the computer on his table, speaking with another man, presumably Jones, over a rather weak subspace channel.

"_You're sure you can find someone interested in this sort of thing, Mudd?"_

"Mr. Cyrano Jones! If I say that I can find us a buyer," chuckled Mudd, "then I mean I can find us a buyer! There are plenty of collectors out there looking for unique pieces like this one. And as I said, with some," he paused, "slight changes, we can get it looking completely genuine!"

_"Well, I suppose it's worth a try! After all, my tribble sales have dropped slightly this last month, and I could always use more money. When can we meet up, Harry? I've a rendezvous with a fellow merchant on Space Station K-7 tomorrow. If you can, try to meet me there. If not, we'll make further plans."_

With that, the channel closed.

* * *

_A/N Part 2: I hope you all enjoy the small references to TOS content. I'll probably make a lot more references as the story goes on, and I'd enjoy hearing feedback on whether readers understand the jokes or not :)_


	5. A Code One Emergancy

_A/N: So I can't help but bring tribbles into this story. I love 'em. Anyways, I figured who better to team up with Mudd than Cyrano Jones? Don't worry, this won't turn into some repeat of _Trouble with Tribbles_, but it'll be similar to what happened in the Prime Universe, just without Sherman's Planet/Organian Peace Treaty._

_I'm totally dedicating this to all those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, especially the children who survived. I've been having enough trouble coming to terms with it, and I don't even know any of those people. I can't imagine what they're going through._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

* * *

"Hikaru, how much farther," Pavel hissed. His elbows were starting to hurt and his knees were getting stiff. He couldn't stop thinking of how he was going to make Sulu pay for this. Silly string and sharpies came to mind.

"Pavel, take the next right. You're more than half way there," Sulu's voice said coming over the communicator.

Just as Sulu finished, the Red Alert went off. He heard a bang and then a groan come over the communicator.

"Ouch," Pavel whined after he hit his head on the top of the air duct, "How am I supposed to report to zhe bridge?!"

"Give me a second," Sulu was scanning the PADD for an empty room, "Fortunately it looks as though the next right should open into a vacant storage room. You can climb out there. I'd report to sickbay before the bridge though, at least Doctor McCoy would give you a credible alibi."

"I'll see you on zhe bridge later, Sulu," Pavel said. He pushed open the air vent exit and half jumped, half fell into the storage closet. "Oof," came the muffled groan across the communicator.

Sulu laughed, shut the communicator, placed it on the couch, and started out the Jefferies Tube. He left the tube, and if anyone saw him he made it look as if he'd been doing repairs of some sort. Then he headed to the bridge to report for duty.

Meanwhile, Pavel was brushing himself off in the store-room. He couldn't put his full weight on his left ankle. This caused him to groan again in frustration. He limped out the door and down the corridor towards sickbay. On the way he ran into Riley.

"What happened to you, Chekov," he whispered, changing directions so he could walk with the Russian.

"I had a leetle disagreement with the floor of a storage room," Pavel mumbled back, gritting his teeth.

They were almost to the sickbay now, but suddenly he stopped, his head spinning. "Uh oh, Riley, zhe floor is spinning," he said.

Riley grabbed his arm to keep Pavel from falling over sideways. "Come on, man, we're almost there. Why's your head spinning? Bump it or something?"

"Da, when zhe alert went off, zhe sound was very loud in zhe air vent, and surprised me," Chekov explained, causing Kevin to chuckle and shake his head.

They entered sickbay moments afterwards. Riley and Chekov saw Nurse Christine Chapel administering a hypospray to an engineer, and Doctor McCoy bustling about in his adjacent office. McCoy was just walking out of the office when he saw the two men.

"What happened to you, kid," he asked, frustrated as usual. Riley rolled his eyes at Nurse Chapel when she turned to see what was going on. She chuckled quietly and shook her head.

"I was in zhe gym with Lt. Riley, and we were sparring with each other, practicing fencing with Sulu. When zhe alert went off, I got distracted for a moment, lost my balance, and fell off zhe small platform," he explained, hoping he sounded more convincing than the felt his story was.

"Uh huh, I see," Doctor McCoy said, scanning the ensign for injuries, "Well, I'm going to have to keep Chekov here for a little while. Why not go up to the bridge, Riley, and relieve whoever was on duty for Gamma Shift at Navigation. Tell Jim where Chekov is too."

"Aye sir," Kevin nodded, and grinning at Christine, left sickbay.

Sulu was at the Helm, conscious of Captain Kirk's ever slumped figure spinning around slightly in his chair as he sat with a concerned look on his face. No doubt, the captain was wondering where his chief navigator was. The door opened, and Jim Kirk swung around, only to find it was Spock who nodded to the captain as he made his way to the Science station.

"Sulu, do you know where Chekov is," the captain asked. Sulu had been waiting for that one.

"No sir, I don't," he replied, careful to keep his posture relaxed so as not to betray his deception.

Once more the sound of the door was heard, and this time more than just Kirk's chair was swiveled so the occupants could see the newcomer. It was Riley.

"Sir, Chekov's in sickbay with a mild head injury and the Doctor asked me to report here instead," explained Kevin to all the eyes trained on him. He'd been on alpha shift before, so it wasn't anything new.

He relieved the current navigator who grinned as she left the bridge, no doubt glad to have a break from bridge duty. She wasn't used to being on alpha shift, and serving with all the department heads could be nerve-wracking.

"Right, well, Uhura received a code one emergency distress call from Space Station K-7. We're under the assumption it has something to do with the Klingons, since they've been trying to take advantage of the weakness of the Fleet since the _Narada _incident. Sulu, increase to warp factor 6 as soon as we clear this star system," instructed Kirk.

"Aye, captain, we'll clear the system momentarily," he replied.

With that, the ship jumped into warp.

* * *

_A/N: Remember to review, guys. I'd love to hear feedback on how it's going so far. One thing i can't promise is an update everyday during the rest of this school week, since I'm busy with finals. I'll try though! Thanks for reading!_


	6. Nothing There?

_A/N:_

_Sincerest apologies to all my readers for the long delay in posting. My laptop decided it wanted its own winter break and decided to, well, quite literally break... With the holidays and all took me a few days to write this after my brother (who happens to be majoring in computer science, go figure) fixed my computer. Anyways, I'm hoping to get this done in a week or so, at the latest by the 21st._

_I can't thank you enough for just reading this fic, and if you comment, most likely you will make my day. Thank you all so much!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing..._

* * *

Mudd grinned at his good fortune as he listened to an officer explaining the Red Alert over the Enterprise's communications system

He had a feeling that Cyrano Jones was behind all of this. Either that, or they had an over abundance of good luck. How else could they explain this sudden course change to Space Station K-7? Quickly he began pulling his non essentials into a case. He would be the first off this spaceship.

* * *

Chekov rubbed his head as he walked out of Sickbay. Dr. McCoy had given him the all clear to return to duty, and he was making his way up to the Bridge. He braced himself for any questions that would be shot his way. The turbolift opened and Pavel stepped out, quite conscious of the concerned looks of the crew, mainly from the female crewmembers, but he'd gotten used to that.

"Ah, Mr. Chekov, how nice of you to show up," grinned Kirk, "It's just not the same on the bridge without you, huh girls?" he winked at the 3 female crewmen present. This of course caused _them_ to blush bright red.

Only Uhura remained unaffected by James T. Kirk's comment. She snorted quietly, rolled her eyes at her captain, and turned back to her station.

Meanwhile, Riley had gotten up from his seat and given it to Chekov. Making his way to the lift, he went to Crew quarters in an attempt to come up with a way to get the Star back.

Sitting in his chair and getting the controls set up the way he was accustomed to, Pavel saw out of the corner of his eye that Sulu was struggling not to burst out laughing. It took all of his patience not to turn and say something to his friend about laughing at him, but then Pavel realized that would only add to Sulu's enjoyment. Chekov certainly did NOT want that to happen.

It took the Enterprise roughly 50 minutes to arrive within sensor range of Space Station K-7. When scans revealed nothing out of the ordinary, Hikaru Sulu could all but feel the Captain's irritation as said commanding officer sat behind him.

"Spock, you're sure there's nothing there," he asked incredulously.

"That is correct, captain. Apart of the space station itself, of course. The Station is fully intact with no sign of a battle of any sort," replied the science officer.

"Uhura, did you check for malfunctions with the communications system?"

"Aye captain, I ran the basic checks as soon as we arrived like you asked, and put Lieutenant Farrell in charge of further detailed analyses," Uhura paused as her ear piece activated before turning back to Captain Kirk, "Sir, Farrell reports that all systems were operating correctly when we received the transmission."

"Alright then, hail the space station. Let's get some answers."

A moment later and a man's face was on the main view screen. He wore a casual uniform, not federation standard, which Sulu guessed to be some sort of civilian uniform. No doubt the station manager, he thought. The man introduced himself as Mr. Lurry.

"Mr. Lurry, this is Captain Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. If there is no emergency, why did you issue the priority one distress call?"

"I do apologize for that Kirk, I really do. But I'm afraid it wasn't my decision. If you would beam over here, I think it'd be easier to explain," said the station manager, obviously quite flustered himself.

"I intend to. And I hope for your sake you are able to explain this, otherwise you broke the law," responded the ever confident James T. Kirk, and he ordered Uhura to close the channel.

"Spock, you're with me. Let's get this over with so we can leave. Mr. Sulu, you've got the bridge," Sulu winced as his captain ordered and stormed out of the room.

Only after the Turbolift doors had closed did Chekov dare turn around to look at the bridge personnel. Catching Hikaru's eye, they both shrugged and Chekov glanced at Uhura who mirrored the response. It seemed no one had any idea how this would end.

As it turned out, they didn't have to wait long before finding out what happened. According to the captain, it was because of Klingons after all. According to Undersecretary Baris, the Federation was meeting with diplomats from a planet called Betazed. These Betazoids were hoping to apply to the Federation for membership, and said undersecretary had deemed it necessary to call the Enterprise to guard the station from Klingons. Kirk was pretty outraged, though this was mainly because in this case, Baris did indeed have the right to use the emergency channel. Therefore, Kirk could not officially fault him, and had to swallow his (rather large) ego.

Under both Starfleet command's direct orders and Mr. Baris' insistence, Kirk agreed to post two pairs of guards on the station. Needless to say, Baris was not happy whatsoever. However the best piece of news that the crew, including Chekov and Sulu, received was that the Captain had authorized shore leave.

* * *

While all this was going on, Riley had installed a listening device inside Mudd's cabin. Much too his dismay, Kevin found that this detour was just what the man needed: a place to contact his partner and conduct a trade… with the star.


	7. Tribbles

_A/N: I'm afraid this is a rather short chapter guys. And it's more of a filler than anything else, because I'm using it to introduce the second little plot involving the tribbles. Bear with me! I'm also sorry about the spacing between my uploads for chapters, but with school it's hard to do regular updates. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing_

* * *

Harry Mudd walked out of his quarters and down the corridor, his two bags stuffed full. He'd wrapped the Christmas star in some (questionably obtained) Rigelian silk scarves.

When he arrived at the transporter pad, Captain Kirk was just beaming back aboard.

"I must say, Captain, your ship is quite extraordinary! However I think it best if I get off here," Mudd said.

"It was no problem, Mr. Mudd. We're happy to have helped, and hope you have better luck with your next ship," Kirk replied, hoping he'd covered up his anger about the emergency distress call, before heading back up to the bridge to announce shore leave to the crew.

The Transporter activated and Harry Mudd found himself on the station. Picking up his luggage, he walked to where he was told the bar was located.

* * *

Kevin Riley sighed with relief when he heard that shore leave had been authorized. Kirk had decided to allow the senior officers and the more experienced crew members go first, calling up the inexperienced crew members to take a turn on the bridge with the captain.

Though Riley wasn't a senior officer, he was certainly one of the most experienced non-senior officers. Therefore, it didn't surprise him that his name was on the list of 20 or so officers in the first shore leave party including: "Commander Spock, Lieutenant Commander Scott, Lieutenant Uhura, Lieutenant Sulu, Lieutenant Riley, and Ensign Chekov."

As Sulu and Chekov got into the Turbo Lift, Hikaru pressed a button and signaled Lt. Riley, asking him to meet them at Transporter Room 1. Fortunately for them, Uhura had decided to head to the station later, and Spock had no interest in shore leave (instead he wanted to use this time to test a few scientific theories in the lab). **UN**fortunately for the trio, Scotty had also declined because he hoped to catch up on some technical journals, so they were limited to the three of them.

"Hey guys, I found something out that isn't too great. Apparently Harry Mudd's colleague is on Space Station K-7 right now! Not only that, but according to my sources, Mudd's already left to meet up with him," Riley mentioned, jogging to catch up with Sulu and Chekov.

"Zat is not good. Not good at all. What are we going to do now," Pavel stammered before they stepped into the transporter room.

"Relax, will you. Let's get down to the bar and brainstorm. Maybe we'll see him, you never know," Sulu added.

The three of them appeared on the transporter pad on Station K-7 and made their way to the bar, their spirits slightly higher than they'd been before.

Entering the bar, Chekov, Sulu, and Riley sat down along the wall at one of those half booth/half chair tables. A quick scan of the bar revealed little, but seconds after they sat down, the three officers saw Harcourt Fenton Mudd, followed by a stranger, walk out of a back room. They both looked quite pleased.

"I think that star shows promise, Mudd. It'll be a welcome change from the few credits a piece I've been getting from the Tribble sales. People just don't seem to want_ "The only love that money can buy." _ Maybe they're too plain, or maybe they reproduce too much. I don't know," said the man following Mudd.

"Aye, Jones, I'm in need of some money me self. Stella, that good for nothing woman kept all I had when I ran into space," Mudd replied as the two settled themselves at the bar.

"Maybe one of those Starfleet officers would like a tribble," commented the man they assumed to be Jones, glancing over at them. "I'll be right back," he added, walking over to them.

"Hello, friends! Have you ever heard of a tribble?"


	8. A Colorful Plan

_A/N: Finally got this chapter typed up. I had it in my head for awhile but I've been quite busy. Just be prepared for a rather... strange... plot twist. Then again, one should suspect trouble whenever tribbles are around... haha, see what i did there... __***sighs* **_

_Oh and this chapter also lead to me trying to explain what a tribble was to someone who had zero knowledge of the Star Trek universe. Thankfully, the image of a moving, cooing fluff ball led her to agree to watch the Trouble with Tribbles episode, so all and all it was a DEFINITE win for me. Finally, another of my friends who ive convinced to watch a Star Trek episode! Yay! __Anyways, thanks to everyone for reading, reviewing, and etc! I really appreciate it!_

_Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Well, other than Flora... but you need to read this to understand._

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"Uh, no I don't think we have," Kevin Riley stated hesitantly as the man named Jones pulled something out of his jacket pocket.

Pavel, Kevin, and Hikaru stared at the thing Jones was holding. It was orangey brown in color, and was round and fluffy. It fit in the palm of the man's hand and all of a sudden it moved, and started making cooing noises.

Chekov nearly jumped out of his seat in surprise. He couldn't help thinking that this thing – this tribble – looked like a giant lint ball. He blushed bright red as Jones, Sulu, and Riley burst out laughing.

"Not to worry, friend, it doesn't bite. Tribbles don't have teeth," chuckled the merchant, "Cyrano Jones is my name. I trade in rare merchandise mostly, and eh, these little creatures. They're only the sweetest creatures known to man!"

Cyrano Jones handed the tribble to Sulu, and the lieutenant grinned at it and said, "It's purring! I guess you get a lot of revenue from these little fluff balls!"

"Well, friends, actually these tribbles haven't been in high demand lately. In fact, it's been nearly a month since I last sold one. Seems that people have no need for them anymore," he responded, his grin turning rather dull.

Riley was fascinated by the tribble. Taking it from Sulu he held it up in front of his face and stared at it. He started petting it, "How much do you want for it?"

This comment gained stares from both his companions. It was Kevin who blushed this time, though not nearly as much as Chekov had. It wasn't his fault he liked little fluffy animals; when he lived at home Kevin had adopted a kitten named Flora. Even though that was years ago, nearly 6 now, he still missed that cat.

"Well, sir, I'd say about… 10 credits."

"Done," came the quick reply.

"Ahh well thank you, kind sir! Well, I really must be going now," replied Cyarno Jones with a wave. Heading back to the bar, he grabbed a glass of alcohol and started chatting with Mudd.

Sulu gave Riley a little punch to the arm. His friend was still patting the tribble, and while Kevin wasn't quite as mesmerized with the little creature, Hikaru noticed that his companion had a sly grin on his face.

"Well? Spit it out, Kev."

"I think… I think we have a plan," Riley said, holding the tribble out in front of him into the middle of the group at the table.

Pavel Chekov shifted in his seat, quite confused. "Well, what is zhe plan?!"

"We need to get the star, right? Right. Well, what better way to do so than to just buy it," explained Kevin.

"With what money," Chekov pointed out, still not catching on. A glance at Sulu told him that his friend was also quite lost.

"I was getting to that. You see, tribbles could be quite profitable."

"Except for the fact that Mr. Jones just told us he hasn't been able to sell one in a month," Sulu added dubiously.

"Yes yes I know. But what if we… spruced these lil' guys up a bit? Made them more exotic," Kevin continued, starting to get excited.

The other officers waited expectantly, and exchanged questioning glances.

"…Well, look at them. It's just… it's brownish orange. Nothing… exciting! What this guy needs is a little color. Something to make him stand out," he said as if his idea was the most obvious thing ever.

"Cut to zhe chase, Kevin."

"Don't you see?! We can use that tie-dye set your mom sent you, Chekov, and make the tribbles colorful! Then everyone will want one, and we can buy that star back," Riley giggled, getting a raised eyebrow from Sulu, "What? It's not my fault I like tie-dying. Did it every year back home at our family Christmas celebrations. We had a competition between the grandchildren and I won every year. Well, except for one, but that was because my cousin Kirstin spilled grape juice on it."

"Well, I for one think it's a great idea. Who couldn't resist rainbow colored living fluff balls," laughed Hikaru.

"Right, zhen we best get back to zhe Enterprise," Chekov reminded them as he stood up from the table.

With the tribble in hand, Sulu, Chekov, and Riley beamed back aboard the ship and headed for the Recreation Room. They had some tribble-decorating to do.

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_A/N 2: See, told you it would be rather strange. But in my own defense, the idea popped into my head while i was sitting in class, talking about Genetics and reviewing those old Punnet square things. All that talk about changes in eye color and the likes caused the image of a rainbow tribble to appear on my paper (which was rather devoid of notes unfortunately)._


End file.
